Turntablism
Chirp scratch
A chirp starts with the fader open and closes it at the end of the forward push, then opens it partway through the pull back. Cutting off the tail of each motion is what makes the sound.
In practice
Cut the tail off both halves — the fader has to land mid-motion, not between motions.
Start slower than feels useful. The chirp is a timing exercise disguised as a sound, and at half speed you can hear whether the close is arriving early (a clipped, thin push) or late (an audible return). Keep the record motion identical to a baby scratch — same size, same speed — so the only new variable is the fader. Most people find the open on the way back harder than the close on the way forward, because it has to happen while the hand is already travelling; practise that half on its own with the record moving slowly.
Mid-motion
Where the fader lands
Both tails
What gets cut
Half speed
Where to start
Where these come from: Technique convention, not catalog figures — our analysis reads whole recordings, not performances. For what we can measure, see the two-hand grammar behind it.
Why it matters
It is the first scratch where the fader is cutting *inside* a motion rather than between motions, and that is the skill everything above it needs. Once the fader can land mid-movement accurately, flares and crabs are a matter of adding clicks.
The name is literal — clipping the tail off both halves leaves two short bursts that rise and fall like a bird call. If it sounds like a baby scratch with gaps, the fader is moving between motions instead of during them.
Frequently asked
Why is it called a chirp?+
Because clipping the tail off both the forward and backward motions leaves two short bursts that rise and fall, which sounds like a bird call at speed.
Is a chirp harder than a forward scratch?+
Yes — a forward scratch moves the fader between motions, a chirp moves it during them. That is the step up, and it is the one every advanced scratch depends on.
What is the difference between a chirp and a flare?+
A chirp starts open and closes to end each sound. A flare starts open and closes momentarily in the middle, so the sound is interrupted rather than ended.
Related terms
Scratch
A scratch is a sound made by moving a record back and forth under the needle while the crossfader or channel fader cuts it in and out. The hand sets the pitch; the fader sets the rhythm.
Baby scratch
The baby scratch is the first one anyone learns: push the record forward and pull it back in time with the beat, fader open throughout. No fader work at all — only the hand.
Transformer scratch
A transformer scratch keeps the record moving slowly and steadily while the fader is stabbed open and shut, chopping one continuous sound into rhythmic bursts. The fader does all the work.
Crossfader
The crossfader is the horizontal fader that blends between two channels. At one end you hear only the left assignment, at the other only the right, and a curve control sets how abruptly the handover happens in between.
Explore: Mixing guides · BPM tapper · Flare scratch · All DJ terms